Blogging Blue » Randy Koschnick

Proponent of slavery invited to “Tea Party” rally in Wausau

Zach W — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 17:09:45 +0000

While some folks in the “Tea Party” movement have tried disavow any links to racism, others certainly seem to be going out of their way to cater to those racist elements within the movement. Organizers of a tea party rally in Wausau next week invited John Eidsmoe, an Alabama author who’s spoken to white supremacists who believe slavery is ordained by God, to appear at the rally next week. Eidsmoe ultimately offered to withdraw from the rally after his background was presented to Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge Randy Koschnick, who then complained to the rally’s organizer. As noted by the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, Eidsmoe holds membership in a group that believes slavery was ordained by God, and only a few months ago he praised Jefferson Davis at the expense of Abraham Lincoln.

What I’d like to know is how the organizer of the rally in Wausau didn’t bother to do any digging into Eidsmoe’s background before inviting him to appear at the event, because it’s pretty clear where John Eidsmoe stands on the issue of slavery.

2009 spring election results

Zach W — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 03:57:30 +0000

The results are in, and it’s been a good night.

In the two statewide races, Justice Shirley Abrahamson prevailed over Judge Randy Koschnick for a seat on the State Supreme Court, and Tony Evers prevailed over Rose Fernandez and will be the state’s next Superintendent of Public Instruction. Closer to home, Michael Mathias and Janet Evans, both of whom are friends of this blog, were victorious in their respective school board races and deserve congratulations.

Unfortunately, the news wasn’t as good for yours truly, but while I didn’t win a seat on the South Milwaukee school board, I’m extremely proud of the campaign I ran and I’m glad to have the experience and memories that the campaign has given me. What’s more, I’m humbled and honored that over 1,000 residents of South Milwaukee cast their votes for me.

Most of all, congratulations to Dave Maass and Kathee Molus; I hope they do great things as members of the South Milwaukee school board!

So this is what constitutes a “clean campaign?”

Zach W — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 01:18:05 +0000

Down at the bottom of Judge Randy Koschnick’s Supreme Court campaign website, there’s a clean campaign ticker counting down the days since Judge Koschnick invited Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson to sign a clean campaign pledge. According to Judge Koschnick’s website, Judge Koschnick “said he believes the two can disagree while maintaining a high level of decorum.”

What I’m wondering is if the following ad is in keeping with the notion of “disagreeing while maintaining a high level of decorum:”

For a candidate who seemed so intent on making sure both sides ran a clean campaign, Randy Koschnick sure doesn’t seem to want to make sure his side of the race runs a clean campaign.

Koschnick running illegal ad?

Zach W — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 18:36:49 +0000

Take a look at the ad being run by Randy Koschnick’s campaign (it’s on the right hand side of the image) and tell me if you see anything wrong with it:

Did you see anything wrong with the ad? If you said that his ad doesn’t have a disclaimer (along the lines of, “Authorized and paid for by….”), then you’d be correct. The last time I checked, it was a violation of election law to run any kind of ad (TV, print, internet, or otherwise) without that disclaimer, but I could be wrong.

The perks of being clerk (to the chief judge)

Zach W — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 21:42:24 +0000

It’s no secret Judge Randy Koschnick isn’t well-liked by his peers in the Jefferson County courthouse, and among the reasons cited for some of the discontent is the special treatment given by Koschnick to his staff.

In a letter written by Jefferson County Judge John Ullsvik to Administrator Gary Petre outlines that special treatment, which consists of Judge Koschnick’s judicial assistant being allowed to work 7 a.m. until 3:30 p.m., meaning that for the last hour of each work day, only two judicial assistants will be available for Jefferson County’s four judges, and when a judicial assistant is on vacation or ill, there will be only one judicial assistant for the four judges to split during the last hour of each work day. In his letter, Judge Ullsvik goes to note the special treatment received by Judge Koschnick’s judicial assistant is part of a longstanding pattern of special treatment on the part of Judge Koschnick:

These special hours of employment for Ms. Schwefel, are a continuation of longrunning special treatment by Judge Koschnick. When he was a new judge, we discovered he was approving over-time pay for Ms. Schwefel for work from 7:00 a.m. until 8:00 a.m. Some of us objected to the impact of such over-time pay to our budget and we were assured it would stop. Later we learned Ms. Schwefel was continuing to begin work at 7:00a.m. and was receiving compensatory time resulting in many weeks of additional vacation time for her.

To read more on Judge Randy Koschnick, venture into my archives.

Randy Koschnick wants a clean campaign…

Zach W — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 02:32:32 +0000

…really, he does!

The only problem with Judge Koschnick’s “clean campaign” pledge is the fact that his own campaign is not abiding by it, as evidenced by a recent mailing:

The Rule of Law is vanishing quietly as the Office of the Chief Justice transforms the Wisconsin Supreme Court into a haven of judicial activism that sucks the life from our economy and jeopardizes public safety.

The quiet menace of tyranny lurks in the shadows as liberal judges seize power from the people’s legislature. In all of this, one common thread emerges …

The quiet menace of tyranny? Sounds pretty negative to me, but that’s not all the letter says:

On the other hand. Shirley Abrahamson has lost sight of these crucial principles. Instead, she is leading our entire legal system down a destructive path toward her revolutionary dream of a Supreme Court with unchecked power to re-create society in its own image.

So not only does Chief Justice Abrahamson represent the “quiet menace of tyranny,” but she is also leading our entire legal system down a “destructive path toward her revolutionary dream of a Supreme Court with unchecked power.” That all sounds pretty negative to me, which seems to fly directly in the face of Judge Koschnick’s clean campaign pledge. Call me crazy, but saying one thing and doing another seems like the very definition of hypocrisy.

Koschnick endorsed by cop killer

Zach W — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 02:15:47 +0000

This just speaks for itself:

in a letter sent from prison to The Associated Press, notorious cop killer Ted Oswald endorsed Judge Randy Koschnick’s candidacy for the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

Needless to say, Oswald’s endorsement of Koschnick locks up the cop killer vote block for Koschnick…

Koschnick: campaigning on state time?

Zach W — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 01:10:43 +0000

A little over a week ago, I wrote about how Judge Randy Koschnick has been using his office phone to make calls to organizations like the Wisconsin Family Council and a representative from Wisconsin Right to Life, presumably in regards to his burgeoning Supreme Court candidacy, and just a few days ago I wrote about Judge Koschnick’s fondness for appearing at partisan campaign events, despite being involved in a nonpartisan race, and despite the fact that judges in the State of Wisconsin are supposed to be nonpartisan.

Earlier today, Cory Liebmann over at the Eye On Wisconsin blog had a great writeup about more of Judge Koschnick’s questionable communications, including signing up for Google Alerts for the term “Koschnick Supreme” using his Wisconsin Courts emails address. Copy of the open records request result here.

As Cory over at EOW notes, at the very least Koschnick’s use of these resources and taxpayer funded time is questionable, and at worst it enters into an ethical “gray area” that should be avoided, especially given the ethics issues that have dogged the two most recent Justices elected to the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

Isn’t he supposed to be nonpartisan?!?

Zach W — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 03:19:00 +0000

Isn’t the upcoming Wisconsin Supreme Court race supposed to be nonpartisan?

I ask because it sure seems like judge Randy Koschnick isn’t afraid to fly his flag as a proud Republican. Case in point is his recent appearance at an event on February 8th to rally GOP members from Green, Rock and Walworth counties Sunday night in Janesville. Judge Koschnick is also scheduled to appear alongside noted conservatives Scott Walker, Rose Fernandez, Vicki McKenna, and Rep. Paul Ryan at the Wisconsin “Defending the American Dream” Summit on March 7th in Milwaukee.

I always thought judges were supposed to be nonpartisan, but I guess judge Randy Koschnick takes a more liberal view than I do of what it means to be nonpartisan.

What’s Randy Koschnick been up to?

Zach W — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 01:49:35 +0000

When judge Randy Koschnick isn’t busy making rulings on traffic citations that get overturned on appeal, he apparently likes to spend his free time in his chambers making phone calls. Now I’m sure you’re probably wondering why Randy Koschnick’s in-chambers activities are something worth discussing, but thanks to some heads-up citizen reporting by fellow blogger Emily Mills, it’s come to light that judge Koschnick is fond of spending his time in chambers making phone calls to groups like the Wisconsin Family Council, the same organization that led the charge to enshrine discrimination against gay Wisconsinites into our state constitution. Interestingly enough, judge Koschnick also exchanged phone calls and emails with Patti Chmielewski, the Jefferson County contact for Wisconsin Right to Life, an organization that coincidentally enough just endorsed Koschnick’s candidacy for the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

Now I’m no expert on the rules that govern the kinds of activities judges – who are presumed to be nonpartisan – are prohibited from engaging in on state time, but I know if I spent any time engaging in politically-related activities at my job, I’d get canned in a heartbeat. Then again, considering Randy Koschnick was “warmly received upon making a visit to the Dunn County Republican Party Caucus” this past Saturday, one can only wonder how non-partisan he really is.

H/T to Emily at the Lost Albatross.